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New Acton museum puts visitors behind wheel for car fun

He's spent his life in the car business: buying and selling, working at dealerships, collecting a handful of rare vehicles and exotic pieces.

Last summer, it was time for him to put his collection on display. He opened Northeast Collection on Great Road in Acton, a car museum where he displays a selection of his prize wheels, including Ford Thunderbirds, Chevrolet Corvettes and a Ferrari.

Walking through the doors of the museum and seeing nearly two dozen cars with gleaming paint jobs and high-power engines, you just want to know the story behind each one.

And that is one of Bertolami's favorite parts of collecting.

"There is history on every single vehicle here," he said.

"There is history on every single vehicle here," said Northeast Collection owner Leo Bertolami, showing off a pink 1957 Ford Thunderbird in his new museum on Great Road in Acton on Sunday morning. "We deal in history, mileage and condition."
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"We deal in history, mileage and condition."

One of Bertolami's favorites is a white 1957 T-Bird with dual four-barrel carburetors.

"There's very few around," he said. "Only 300, 400 of these."

Parked a few feet away is another 1957 T-Bird, but this is a dust rose color.

Bertolami said that set of wheels is very rare. It's also the only manual transmission vehicle in his showroom.

Those are just two of the 21 cars on display in his museum right now -- a collection that is valued at more than $1 million, he said.

Another show-stopper in the museum is a 2013 Dodge Challenger SR8 that was improved by Hennessey Performance Engineering.

The 700-horsepower car came from Nevada and is serial No.

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2, Bertolami said. When the car's owner found out his wife was pregnant with twins, it was time to trade it in, and Bertolami was able to snag it.

Bertolami, of Acton, cut his college education short at Northeastern University to pursue the car business. He was making good money working at a dealership while in school, and loved it enough to make it his career. He is the president of Acton Ford and the president of Milldam Leasing. Bertolami got involved in real estate along the way, and is also the president of Wayside Management Corp.

A 1930 Ford five-window hot rod that was rebuilt in the late 1960s competes for attention at Northeast Collection.
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The museum's cars do see the road every once in a while to keep them in good shape, and these machines can burn rubber.

"If you drive these, the strongest thing you want to have is a cup of coffee," Bertolami said.

The red Ferrari sitting proudly in the center of the museum is one of those. It's a 2004 360 Spider, another one of Bertolami's favorites. It can reach speeds up to 160 miles per hour, he said.

"This is probably one of the most basic Ferraris you can buy," Bertolami said. Though its sleek paint job, finely stitched leather seats and massive engine seem far from basic.

Bertolami purchased the Ferrari for $229,000, but today it is likely worth slightly less than $200,000, he said.

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

Though he sees these cars nearly every day, Bertolami said he still gets excited walking through the doors and seeing them in their glory on display.

"How could you not," he said.

While Bertolami has owned some of the cars for years, in order to keep his museum fresh with new cars to attract auto enthusiasts he plans to sell at least four or five of the ones on display right now. If he sells and buys a few each month, he'll have a collection that evolves with time.

One of the cars that will likely move on soon is a 1979 Volkswagen Beetle.

"This is kind of souped-up a bit," Bertolami said. "It's kind of a Volkswagen hot rod."

Bertolami will also offer classes at the museum, teaching prospective car buyers the ins and outs of obtaining and maintaining the classics.

The headlight of a 1954 Corvette at Northeast Collection in Acton.
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Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

Northeast Collection does not have a website yet, but will be online soon.

While his showroom is packed tight for the winter, Bertolami said there may be more room to grow. He's eyeing another location in the Osterville village of Barnstable, Cape Cod, where he has another residence.

The Acton museum is open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

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